


The Color Coordination Conundrum

by GuardianMars



Series: A Day in the Life | PALADINS OF VOLTRON [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 06:54:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17116529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianMars/pseuds/GuardianMars
Summary: Risavi's innocuous question about the paladin's color palette leads to a deeper conversation regarding the lions and the paladin-bond. AKA, the one where Hunk bonds a little with the MRE pilots.





	The Color Coordination Conundrum

_“I have a question about the paladins!”_

 

This was nothing new, Kinkade reflected. Rizavi _always_ had questions about the paladins, the lions, and Voltron. Unfortunately, most of her questions were directed towards her fellow MRE pilots who obviously couldn’t answer said questions. Though, when ever she actually got the chance to ask a paladin her questions, most of the time they were deflected or outright ignored.

 

Griffin thought it was due to the paladins feeling a sense of superiority to the MRE pilots, though Kinkade figured it was mainly due to the fact that the paladins didn’t really know them very well.  The paladins tended to stick close together, only delving out of their comfort zone to interact with the Holts - which made sense given the Holt girl, and Commander Shirogane - which also made sense given that he was the former Black paladin.

 

Even though Rizavi was getting closer to the Green paladin, Katie could vary in her reactions to being smothered with questions. Sometimes she nerded out and other times she was as feisty as the lion she piloted. Kinkade learned early on, not to press unless he wanted a verbal slap down of epic proportions (Lance had cheerfully warned them not to get on her bad side unless they wanted a taser to the ribs).

 

The MRE crew had a rare opportunity though, given that Hunk had joined them for lunch. It took a little cajoling on Veronica and Rizavi’s part, but Hunk sat down commenting that there was nothing much to do since he was waiting on a sourdough loaf to bake. “I got a sample from Colleen that I’d been wanting to try out.” Hunk had directed this comment more towards Kinkade who perked up.

 

But Rizavi had other plans. “Hunk, I have a question about the paladins!”

 

Hunk paused. “Oh?”

 

“Yeah! Sooooo… Keith is the Black paladin and Lance is the Blue paladin, right? So how come Keith wears a red uniform and Lance wears blue? Also, why does Allura wear pink?”

 

“Ah.” Hunk relaxed. Kinkade thought that was interesting. What kinds of questions had he been asked previously? He noticed the small look Veronica shot him, so it wasn’t just something he had imagined. Interesting.

 

“Well, originally Keith piloted the Red lion and Lance was with Blue; Shiro piloted the Black lion.” He paused to look at everyone. “I don’t know if you already knew that. Anyway when Shiro die, uh, disappeared we knew that someone would have to take over as leader. And Shiro had wanted Keith to do so.”

 

Hunk shifted as he realized that he had everyone’s full and undivided attention. “Uh, so it was kind of awkward at first because Keith wasn’t used to how slow the Black lion was and he was kind of used to always charging in head first with Red, so he had to really slow down. And Lance was now sort of the right hand, so it was a new lion and a new set of responsibilities. Then we had to get Allura caught up to speed which was super difficult cause we were chasing after Lotor at the time.”

 

Hunk sighed. “Ugh, that was such a mess at first. Plus she was used to piloting the castleship, which is much different than working with a lion.”

 

“How was that different?” Kinkade asked.

 

Hunk chuckled. “She was trying to command Blue, and Blue was just not having it. She ended up getting separated from everyone, I mean we all did. But in the end, it was Allura who brought us all back together. I think Pidge talked to Allura about it after the fact because after the whole charge first, think last fiasco, Allura’s bond was stronger and she was more confident. Which is important.”

 

“You speak of the lions as if they are alive.” Leifsdottir spoke up.

 

At the same time Rizavi had piped in, “Do you just switch lions if necessary or do you have a preference for which one you pilot?”

 

Rizavi was clearly thinking on their own cruisers. There was definite preference involved for the MRE crew, but if it came down to it, Kinkade would and could pilot any of the others’ cruisers. But Kinkade was more interested in Leifsdottir’s question. The paladins tended to refer to the lions as if they were living beings. Almost like pets in a way (“C’mon girl!”).

 

“Well, they are.” This was answering Leifsdottir’s question. “They were made with the quintessence-infused ore of a trans-reality comet after all. So it’s best not to be too surprised at what comes from those.” Blank looks.

 

“Uh, super cool, super magical ore from another universe.” Looks of faux-understanding and “ahhs” abounded.

 

“Right,” Hunk said. “So each lion does have its own distinct personality. “Blue found us first, or we found Blue. I think she has the best bond with us as a group, she’s very comforting especially when you find yourself just outside Pluto’s orbit entering an Altean wormhole.”

 

He laughed as if recalling a fond memory, and Kinkade was once again hit with just how crazy the former-Garrison cadets’ lives had ended up. The juxtaposition of a Garrison cadet (who had come from possibly one of the _worst_ teams) and the Yellow paladin of Voltron, defender of the Universe was startling at times.

 

“Greenie and Yellow are pretty chill - though Yellow is the more stable one.” Hunk paused briefly and looked around for a minute before continuing.

 

“Don’t tell Pidge I said that, but it’s true. Yellow would never go off to check something out for shits and giggles only to end up in a dangerous situation. Sort of like Pidge herself, really. She’ll give Lance crap for ending up in dangerous situations but if there’s a robot involved, she’s a goner. It’s that curiosity characteristic that bites you in the end. Yellow said that Trigel was the same way”

 

Griffin didn’t quite understand what curiosity had to do with it, or who or what ‘Trigel’ was, but he didn’t want to interrupt.

 

“Red is the more temperamental one, she’s super fast and you have to have the confidence to be able to roll with the punches. She’ll meet you halfway, but you have to really work for it, she doesn’t just roll over for you.

 

“And Black, well, he reminds me of Shiro honestly. Comforting, but at times intimidating; someone who’s clearly a born leader. Like, Shiro just oozes capability and commander-vibes, y’know? Which makes sense because if you’re piloting Black, you’re assuming full command over the lions, not just the paladins.”

 

Hunk paused to let everyone absorb this before continuing. “Plus, even after all this time we still don’t understand the full capabilities of the lions. We know they have distinct personalities, that they have their own interactions amongst each other, the way pilots do, that they can function on their own if need be. Plus the telepathic connection is some next level stuff.”

 

Pause. “But why does Allura wear pink?”

 

The entire table (with the exception of Leifsdottir) face-palmed. Really, such a question when the Yellow paladin had revealed that the lions could not only function by themselves but were in fact alive?!

 

“Oh. The Altean color of mourning is pink. Well, specifically pink honors those who have fallen in battle. Allura wears it in honor of her father, Alfor, who piloted the Red lion.”

 

“So why doesn’t Allura pilot the Red lion instead of the Blue one?” Kinkade asks.

 

“As piloting goes, the lions pick the paladin, so we can’t just pilot each other’s lions for the hell of it. I mentioned earlier that Shiro had wanted Keith to lead, but that wouldn’t have mattered if Black didn’t also agree. We all tried to bond initially, but nothing happened until Keith went into the Black lion. He wasn’t happy at first, because he didn’t feel like he was leader material. He ... kinda wasn’t at first, but he learned.

 

“Also,” Hunk paused before lowering his voice. “We don’t really tell others this because they’ll get the wrong idea, but in times of extreme emergency we can pilot other lions. Mainly if the pilot’s life is in danger.”

 

“Really?” that was Veronica.

 

Hunk hummed an affirmative. “One time we were out on a mission and Pidge took a bad hit and broke her arm, so she couldn’t pilot Greenie, so Keith took over controls. I’ve piloted Blue before, and Lance took controls for me to pilot Yellow.” He shrugged. “It happens.”

 

It was a sobering thought. The paladin’s life had to be in danger before a lion would let another pilot at the controls. It was also weird to hear Hunk speak of a dire situation in such a casual way.

 

“Plus,” Hunk continued, “Most of the time, the lion will just function on its own. I can’t tell you how many times Red just up and left cause Keith was in danger.”

 

Before Hunk could continue, his watch dinged. “Ah, sorry but I need to go check on my bread. If you guys want any, just head over to the kitchen.” Hunk got up. He hesitated before saying, “Uh, it was nice sitting with you and just y’know chatting. We don’t get a lot of that anymore.”

 

And with that, the Yellow paladin left the MRE crew to their own thoughts. The table sat silently for a moment before Rizavi remarked, “Well now I have even more questions!”

 


End file.
